State Delegation Members Have Drivers, But No Chauffeurs

February 13, 1993|By HEATHER M. IARUSSO; Courant Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Some drive. Others are driven.

As part of his streamlining of White House staff, President Bill Clinton has reduced the number of cars available to chauffeur administration officials to and from the White House. This commuting privilege contrasts with the Connecticut congressional delegation's daily ritual of getting around the capital.

Although none of the members has a chauffeur, full-time staff members usually rotate the job of shuttling them to and from the airport or driving them to meetings.

Both Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3rd District, and Rep. Gary A. Franks, R-5th District, have staff members take them to public events and business meetings.

DeLauro's press secretary, Maureen Driscoll said, "It is a more productive use of her time [because] she can work on constituent business and the staffer can talk about business on the way." But, she added, DeLauro "walks at an extraordinarily fast pace" when she is going to vote or heading to a nearby meeting.

Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd's press secretary, Marvin Fast, said Dodd drives himself to and from the Hill because "it is always better to rely on [your]self." But when he is in Connecticut, a staff member usually drives him on official business and briefs him on the way to meetings.

Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th District, who stays with relatives in Virginia when working in Washington, said he has been driving himself to and from the Hill since he arrived in 1987. "I drive myself around simply because I like to be by myself sometimes during the week, and I don't want to tie the staff down," Shays said.

Although he said he doesn't like the idea of people waiting for him, he said there are advantages to having a staff member accompany him.

"One disadvantage of driving myself around is I miss contact with my staff," Shays said. "Most members work seven days a week, 12 to 15 hours a day. [We] try to maximize the time [we] can work."

Whether weaving through traffic to a meeting or dashing out the door to vote, members are acutely aware of the time. There are two ways Rep. Sam Gejdenson, D-2nd District, gets to work: If the temperature is below 30 degrees, he walks; if the temperature is above 30 degrees, he bicycles.

"When I'm sitting home having dinner with the kids, I can get there in 3 minutes and about 20 seconds," Gejdenson said. Which leaves him about 12 minutes to spare; each member has 15 minutes in which to vote.

His trusty steed is a $50, three-speed bike he bought nine years ago from another member. It has so far escaped the fate of his first rusty, $10 bike, which was stolen from outside the Longworth House Office Building. He didn't have much better luck with his second bike, borrowed from his sister-in-law: it sent him flying over the handlebars, ripping the shoulder of his suit, when the front fender dropped and caught the wheel as he pedaled to a meeting.

"[I showed up] looking pretty disheveled," Gejdenson said.

When in Connecticut, Gejdenson said, he usually drives himself to meetings because he "likes the peace and quiet." But one disadvantage to driving yourself, he said, is if you are caught speeding it could become a headline story. He added: "Driving with too many things going on in your head is dangerous."

Both Rep. Nancy L. Johnson, R-6th District, and Rep. Barbara B. Kennelly, D-1st District, walk to the Hill from their nearby apartments. And Kennelly has perfected the jaunt.

"I can get to the House [floor] from my apartment in 15 minutes, and to my office in 7 minutes," she said. "I've timed it."

Kennelly has been living in the same apartment since 1984 and has never had a car in Washington. She said she attends events with other members and relies on other colleagues who live on the Hill to give her a ride home.

Democratic Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's press secretary said that one person usually picks the senator up in the morning on his way to the office and drops him off at his home in northwest Washington.

"The senator does work while he is in the car," Jim Kennedy said. "The car is an office in itself, [where] the senator reads letters or is briefed. Car time is considered work time.